HSBC and Standard Chartered have been caught up in a US Justice Department probe into violations of sanctions on Iran, it was reported last night.

The investigation led to an £80 million ($1.1 billion) penalty being paid by the Dutch bank ABN Amro which, along with Swiss giant UBS, has cut back its ties with Tehran under pressure from Washington.

The original story can be found here at The Independent of the UK, which provides greater detail on which banks have been targeted and what their current operations are. HSBC and Standard Chartered both state they have no intention of reducing their operations in Iran.